Amplio Blog

2 min read

Is Q3 the new Q4? 4 Myths About Back-to-School on Amazon Debunked

Back to School season generates more retail sales than Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Prime Day, and Superbowl combined. That equates to 80 billion dollars in purchases during this season. Although some companies may be surprised by this data, Back-to-School is more than a lull period before gearing up for the holiday season - it gives brands and incredible selling opportunity for a strong Q3.

Below are a few fears and hesitations about Back-to-School season that we often hear from brands. We will debunk each one for you so you can see the true value of this selling season on Amazon.

Myth 1: My company doesn’t make school supplies, so I won’t be able to leverage Back-to-School buying season

Brands occasionally assume that Back-to-School is only good for brands that sell school supplies. However, there are over a dozen categories that get a significant amount of sales during Back-to-School season, including snacks, equipment, furniture, accessories, and electronics. Shoppers are looking for and buying products in a number of different categories beyond just school supplies.

Myth #2: My company’s products aren’t for kids so Back-to-School season won’t work for me.

If your target user is not a child, you may think Back-to-School season doesn’t matter to you. Truth is, 67% percent of spending is happening in for college purchases like electronics, accessories, furniture, personal care, food, and more. If your target is 18 years old or up, you are going to have a customer in this mix.

It turns out over 50% of purchases for Back-to-School are occurring online. That equates to 40 billion dollars! In fact, 46% of consumers are treating Amazon like a search engine and beginning their product search here. With this many people browsing online and purchasing on Amazon, there is a huge opportunity to capitalize on.

Myth #4 School starts mid-August, so I will start thinking about search then.

Even though school typically does not start until mid-August or early September, 70% of Back-to-School purchases occur at least 3 weeks before school starts. In fact, Amazon sees an increase in seasonal keyword trends in May, with a spike in mid-July.

Want to know how to optimize for seasonal search keyword trends and win big in Q3? Watch this webinar here.